Pride For Love
by sincerelymendacious
Summary: Franke makes a big mistake when she messes with the wrong person. Kitty makes it all okay, though.


Title is a line from Cibo Matto's Flowers -'Because of time, we lost our pride for love'. Also, I am using Franke's original design to describe her eyes, which has them as purple instead of yellow- but she's wearing her in game clothes because I like to combine the best of both worlds.

* * *

_Her nail polish is chipped._

The observation came to Kitty as she stood with Franke at their usual spot in front of the bridge. They were currently engaged in their favorite early to mid morning game, one Kitty fondly referred to as 'Taxing the Peasants'. Their joined hands formed a gate that couldn't be opened unless the prospective bridge-crosser paid a toll of one arrowhead- two if their clothes didn't match or their hair looked particularly offensive. The 'game' (they had to call it a game because if they called it what it really was Agent Vodello would make them stop) was a rather lucrative one, as most everyone needed to cross the bridge at some point in the day. With a few notable exceptions, Kitty and Franke were able to squeeze out at least one arrowhead from every dorky camper that came their way.

The current profits from today numbered five arrowheads, all of them safely stored in the backpocket of Franke's purple, floral-patterned bell-bottoms. They had received one each from Nils, Chloe and Maloof, and two from Quentin, who had crossed the bridge and then come right back, as though he'd only done so for the privilege of being able to touch her twice as he placed the arrowhead in her perfectly smooth and perfectly manicured hand.

There was nobody looking to cross the bridge at this particular time, as the majority of the suckers were still in the Coach's mind, either getting yelled at or getting blown up (an indignity that neither she or her girlfriend would ever have to suffer, as she'd made it quite clear to that poser just which one of his secrets she'd reveal if he didn't exempt them both from his stupid class). The day was warm and clear, and had Kitty been more inclined towards the outdoors she might have enjoyed watching that bird swallow a worm whole like it was a spaghetti noodle, or the two fleabag squirrels fighting to the death over an acorn. Kitty was a city girl through and through, however, and such sights earned her disgust rather than her awe.

The state of Franke's nails was far more interesting to her anyway. The chip was on Franke's thumb; Kitty had noticed it while the other girl was swiping it back and forth along her own. The chip wasn't very big, with only the smallest bit of pale pink exposed in the upper corner of her otherwise sparkly sea-green nail. It annoyed Kitty nonetheless, as she had just applied the polish last night. _I expect better quality from Marc Jacobs, _Kitty thought as she quickly inspected the rest of the nails for flaws. _Should have brought my Dior polish instead…_

The rest of Franke's nails on that hand were in an acceptable state, so Kitty let her gaze drift upward to her girlfriend's face. What she saw nearly made her laugh; not out of derision (the reason she usually laughed) but out of amusement. The goofy, love-struck grin currently gracing Franke's features would certainly have been worthy of mockery had Kitty seen it on somebody else- such as any of the boys here- but on Franke it was simply so adorable that Kitty had to tear her eyes away, lest a similar smile make its way onto her own face. It wouldn't do for Kitty to look silly when she was demanding her arrowheads from the chumps looking to pass, after all.

She switched her focus to Franke's bangs, pleased to see that they still retained the feathery part that she had styled them in earlier this morning. In addition to framing her face in an appealing way, the bangs came down low enough to hide Franke's eyebrows from view, which was good, because they were a bit of a disaster at the moment. Last night, shortly after manicures, Franke had used pyrokinesis on her left eyebrow in an attempt to shape it without using her tweezers. Rather than giving that eyebrow the nice, seductive arch she'd wanted, Franke had ended up burning half of it off and giving herself a minor injury in the process.

Kitty's reaction to the event had been...odd. She'd been immediately alarmed upon hearing Franke's cry of shock and pain, feeling more distress in that moment than she ever had in her life, even more than when her father had told her that they were moving to boring Bakersfield. She had rushed to cancel out the pyrokinesis before more damage could be done to the brow. Then, instead of tossing some bland words of comfort and snickering internally, as she would have had this calamity befallen one of her other girlfriends, she'd actually pulled Franke close and allowed her to cry on her shoulder, unconcerned about the tears staining her hadn't been any thought to the action- she'd taken one look at Franke's big, watery eyes and couldn't stop herself from pulling her into a hug, stroking the other girl's hair as she mourned the loss of her eyebrow.

At first, she'd merely murmured reassurances into Franke's hair as she cried ("don't worry baby, we can just draw that eyebrow in, it's okay,") but then she'd found herself telling Franke about how she had nearly set her hair ablaze the first time she had used pyrokinesis. She didn't know why she had shared the embarrassing anecdote- there hadn't been any material benefit to opening up like that, and if it had been overheard by any of the other campers it could have dealt a massive blow to her image- only that the story had come tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop it and the way that Franke had smiled through her tears had made any risk to her reputation worth it.

_It's just because she's psychic, _Kitty thought as she looked away from Franke's cute, besotted face. Kitty had had girlfriends before- she had a woman in every town, just like her dad- but none of them had been psychic like her. _The novelty will eventually wear off…_

The sound of high-quality soles hitting rickety wood brought her out of her thoughts, the noise alerting her to somebody's approach. Kitty stiffened, already knowing that somebody was Agent Nein - the Coach was in his treehouse and Agent Vodello was more likely to float over the bridge than walk over it. She cast a glance over her shoulder, squeezing Franke's hand as she turned her head. Sure enough, Agent Nein was making his way toward them, clad in his usual sleek jacket and striped turtleneck. It wasn't a bad look for him; the colors suited his hair and skin nicely, but it was also kind of boring. _Just like him. _

She gave Franke a gentle nudge. _Agent Nein is coming, _she warned as she plastered her most innocent expression onto her face.

Franke whipped her head back, a loose strand of hair sticking to her cheek as she moved. Kitty put it back into place with telekinesis._ Oh man, _Franke thought back, her grin morphing from goofy to excited. She briefly let go of Kitty's hand to turn around, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste. Which was weird, Kitty reflected as she too turned to face the approaching German. She had expected that Franke would be nervous and look to her for guidance, but instead she seemed almost eager to meet with Agent Nein.

She didn't have any time to dwell on her girlfriend's bizarre behavior, for Agent Nein was upon them in a second. He came to a stop right in front of them, his hands in his pockets and his mouth in a stern line. The dark lenses of his glasses hid his eyes well, and the only indication that he was looking at them at all was the slight downward tilt of his head. There were only two things Kitty could glean from the way he looked- that he didn't know why she and Franke were blocking his way (from the way his eyebrow was slightly raised), and that he was annoyed by the obstruction (from the tic in his jaw).

The three stood there silently for a moment, the two girls staring up at the Agent, Kitty with her eyes wide and bright and a sugar-sweet smile curving her lips, and Franke smiling in a significantly less innocent manner. _We've got to work on her wholesome little angel look. _"Hi Agent Nein!" Kitty greeted, pitching her voice high and speaking in an overly cheerful manner.

"Cadet Bubai," Agent Nein replied, her pretty face and honeyed tone not softening him towards her one bit. He turned his head to the left, the motion barely perceivable, brow furrowing slightly as he regarded Franke. "And...friend." A flare of annoyance shot up within Kitty at Agent Nein's quick dismissal of her girlfriend. How could he just forget Franke's name? He hadn't even bothered to try and read her mind to find out what it was. She smothered her irritation, her smile tightening with the effort of keeping it on her face as Agent Nein proceeded with his inquiry. "What exactly are you two doing?"

"Oh, you know," Kitty answered coyly, looking down at her RFW Tokyo brand sneakers. "Me and Franke," she put extra emphasis on Franke's name, "we don't have to do basic braining anymore, since we have the badge already and all." She looked back up, fluttering her long, fake lashes cutely. "We're just waiting for the next class to start. Which I think is yours!" She beamed in a way that made her cheeks seemed rounder. "Really looking forward to it!"

Once again, Agent Nein appeared unmoved by her innocent little girl act. Kitty hadn't expected him to be; her goal in playing that up was to get him to write her off as just another vapid little kid, since it drew less scrutiny to her and Franke's activities that way. "I'm aware that you both already have your Basic Braining merit badge," he said, taking one hand out of his pocket and brushing his bangs off of his forehead. Kitty bit back a sharp response to that, though she couldn't prevent herself from thinking it. _How could you be aware of that if you didn't even know what Franke's name was a minute ago?_ "What I'm curious about," he continued, thankfully not having overheard Kitty's thoughts, "is why you've chosen to stand in front of the bridge. Surely there are more productive uses of your time that do not involve potentially backing up bridge traffic."

Kitty opened her mouth to respond with a 'gosh, Agent Nein, we just really like the view from here, we didn't mean to block anyone's way!' but Franke unfortunately beat her to the punch. "We're Taxing the Peasants!" she said, loudly and proudly.

"Taxing the Peasants," Agent Nein repeated, the slow, drawn-out way he spoke the words not boding well for either of them.

Franke nodded enthusiastically, not noticing how strained Kitty's expression had become. "You want to pass, you gotta pay the toll." She held out her hand, like she would if she were talking to Elton or Crystal and not a camp counselor that could get them both in a lot of trouble. "One arrowhead, please!"

_Franke, stop! _Kitty thought, not at all liking the way that Agent Nein was frowning at them. _What are you doing? _

Franke looked at her, blinking in confusion. "Should I charge him more?" she asked, speaking out loud, much to Kitty's horror.

"You should not have been charging me anything," Agent Nein said, answering before Kitty could. His expression had not changed, but Kitty could detect the edge of irritation underlying his otherwise monotone inflection. "The bridge is free for anyone to pass." He crossed his arms over his chest, the pose making him appear sterner than he had a moment before. "Why do you two think you have any right to exact a toll from anyone wishing to cross? I don't recall either of you being involved with its construction."

"We were just playing a game, Agent Nein," Kitty said, struggling to keep the smile on her face and her tone light, "It's all just make-believe."

"Yeah!" Franke blurted out, her hand falling clumsily back to her side. Her face was now as red as her hair, and her previously smug expression had given way to one of panicked embarrassment. She looked like somebody who'd tried to get away with wearing last season's Gucci pumps to a party and had just been called out for it. "Like, uh, I was totally gonna be like 'psyche!' and let you go through. No lie!" The rapid, nervous way Franke had spoken didn't make the statement very convincing.

"Were you now," Sasha said, switching his attention to Franke, who immediately flinched from his gaze. "Am I to assume that this is how you've been interacting with your peers?"

"Um…"

"Because those five arrowheads in your pocket tell a very different story."

Franke's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening. "How'd you know that I had five arrowheads?" she asked. "Did you read my mind or something?"

"How else would I have known?" Agent Nein replied curtly.

Kitty sighed, knowing that any further protest at this point would be useless now. Franke, however, had not realized that Agent Nein had learned far more than just the amount of arrowheads in she had stored away, and was still trying to weasel them out of their situation. "Those...I, uh, dug those out of the ground, myself?" Franke said, offering up the fakest smile Kitty had ever seen. "Seriously, I love plucking those arrowheads out! I do it all the time! I just can't get enough, ask anyone-"

Agent Nein put a hand up and Franke's rambling ceased. "Save your lies for somebody who doesn't have nearly thirty years of mind-reading experience," he said, the little note of arrogance in his voice setting Kitty's teeth on edge. "What you're doing here is considered extortion."

A creased appeared between Franke's brows as she mulled the unfamiliar word over. "Ex-whaty?"

Agent Nein did not respond, instead glancing at Kitty. Kitty shrugged, pretending that she didn't know what the word meant either. She did, of course, know the meaning of the word 'extortion' but if Agent Nein were to know that she knew, he might decide that she was the mastermind behind this scheme (which, technically, she was), and give her the harsher punishment. Better to play dumb and accept his condescending to her. "Extortion is the act of obtaining currency through force or threats," he said, speaking to them as though he thought they were a pair of fools (the nerve of this guy, talking to her like that when he couldn't keep his bangs out of his own face), "and it's something that could get you both in quite a bit of trouble later in life, were you to continue this sort of behavior as a Psychonaut."

Franke narrowed her eyes, her cheeks flushing from anger rather than embarrassment. "Hey!" she snapped, her hand squeezing Kitty's hard. "We didn't force anyone to give us those arrowheads!" We just told them that they couldn't pass if they didn't!"

Kitty couldn't help but admire Franke's courage- standing up to Agent Nein was no small feat, even if Franke had gone about it in the most incriminating way possible. _Franke, sweetie, _she thought, putting up the best mental shield she had to keep Agent Nein from eavesdropping. _Enough. _She rubbed her thumb over the back of Franke's hand. _Let me take it from here. _

Franke turned her head, mouth trembling and cheeks red. She blew out a breath, her anger going out as she exhaled. _Okay, _she replied meekly, her shoulders slumping sadly.

She looked so sad and defeated that Kitty's heart clenched painfully. She wanted to let go of Franke's hand and put her arm around her shoulder, but had to resist the urge to do so. Smoothing things over with Agent Nein had to come first. "Agent Nein," she began, looking up at him with as much pretend remorse as she could muster. "We messed up. There's no point in denying it." She spoke clearly and bluntly, knowing that tears wouldn't move the grim agent. "I know you like, probably have to give us extra homework or something." Next to her, she saw Franke hang her head in shame- dammit, Agent Nein was going to pay for making her girlfriend feel so bad!

"I'm going to have to give you a punishment more severe than that," Agent Nein said plainly. "This is a very serious offense."

Kitty waved her free hand airily, batting the warning away. "Yeah, yeah," she said, a hint of slyness coming into her expression. "You do what you think you gotta do. But let me just remind you that my Dad is super rich and can call up the best lawyers on the west coast at the drop of a hat." She grinned, baring all of her pretty, pearly teeth.

"Yes, Cadet Bubai," Agent Nein said, making her name sound like an admonishment. "I'm well aware of your father's wealth, and of the resources at his disposal. It will not prevent me from giving you and...Cadet Athens a suitable punishment."

Kitty's grin collapsed, her mouth clamping down tightly to prevent herself from telling this miserly, low-paid government employee where he and his fake designer jacket could shove his 'suitable punishment.' She transformed the angry line of her mouth into a cute pout, sticking her lower lip out cutely. "Well, like I said," she bit out, putting her hands behind her back and idly rocking back and forth, "you do what you think is right. Actions do have consequences, after all…" Kitty trailed off, looking up at Agent Nein with thinly veiled hostility.

Agent Nein either did not pick up on her subtle threat, or did not think it had any real bite to it. Kitty wasn't sure which of those options was more rage-inducing. "I have business with Coach Oleander that has already been delayed enough by this nonsense. Disciplinary action will be taken when you arrive at my class." Hope came into Franke's face at those words, brightening her downcast expression. "And if you attempt to avoid it by not showing up," he continued, no doubt having read Franke's mind and wanting to crush any desire she had of getting out of it,"I will triple its duration. Is that clear?"

A pair of mumbled 'yeahs' confirmed their understanding.

"Good." Agent Nein looked from Franke to Kitty, and then settled his gaze between them, at their clasped hands. "In the meantime, I will ask that you both step to the side so that I may proceed."

Kitty let go of Franke's hand, looking away so that Agent Nein would not see the fury she could no longer keep from twisting her features. She held her head up high as she walked, acting as though clearing the way had been her idea and not something she'd been forced to do. Her humiliating ordeal was not over yet, for as she was moving over to the side, Agent Nein told them that they would need to relinquish the arrowheads that they had collected.

"You can't expect me to let you keep them, after all," he explained as Franke grudgingly dug through her pockets and handed the arrowheads over. Kitty kept her eyes on her shoes, not surprised to have her hard-earned arrowheads taken, but boiling over it all the same. She tried to take comfort in the fact that her shoes were way cuter and more stylish than Agent Nein's, but it didn't help- not even her sneakers could alleviate the bitter taste that being treated this way left in her mouth.

Agent Nein looked down at his hand, observing the little purple arrowheads in his palm. "The rest of them as well."

Franke blinked, looking at Agent Nein in confusion. "But that's…" She squinted, silently counting the arrowheads in the Agent's hand. "That's five of them, right?" She glanced at Kitty, like she wasn't certain of her counting abilities and needed a second opinion.

"There are indeed five of them in my hand, yes," Agent Nein replied, putting them in his pocket for safe-keeping. "But you have more than this."

"Uh, what?" Kitty put her hands on her hips, wishing that the wannabe-scientist would quit toying with them and leave so that she could start planning her revenge. "She did give you all of them," she pointed out, exasperated.

"Yeah!" Franke, face white, began to turn out her pockets to show that she had nothing in them. Some lint and a few pieces of gum dropped to the ground, but no hidden arrowheads. "We got one from Helmet girl, one from Pervy Blond, one from the Crying Meatball and two from Scarfy." She snapped her head back up at Agent Nein, on the verge of tears (_Don't let this jerk see you cry, baby, he's not worth it!) _"That's all of them, I swear!"

"This is all that you've obtained this morning," Agent Nein corrected, the extra emphasis he had put on 'this morning' causing her to tense up. "What I am referring to when I say 'the rest of them' are the thirty-four that you have stashed underneath your mattress, Cadet Athens."

"That's...I don't-" Her attempts to deny the arrowheads existence died away, her words turning into half-formed nonsense syllables.

"This is ridiculous!" Kitty exclaimed, outraged at the disrespect being shown to her and Franke. Taking their profits from this morning was one thing, but taking their entire stash was going too far! _What is he going to do with thirty-nine arrowheads anyway? Is he saving up for that cobweb duster? _"You can't be serious."

Agent Nein met her venomous gaze, unfazed by her vicious glare.

"I assure you, Cadet Bubai, I am." Kitty kept her eyes on his shades, refusing to be intimidated by his age and rank.

"But Agent Nein!" Franke cried out, the tremble in her voice going straight to Kitty's heart. "You can't take all of them! Some of them we really did pull out of the ground!"

"How can I know that for sure?" Agent Nein asked, calm in the face of Franke's growing distress. "It's very obvious that this operation of yours has been going on for a while, and both of you have lied to me multiple times within the course of this investigation." Kitty rolled her eyes at that- what he called an 'investigation' was really just him, a forty-something year old man, harassing two kids. "How do you expect me to believe that at this point?"

Franke opened her mouth to protest further but Kitty stopped her, laying her hand on the red-head's shoulder. _Stay strong, girlfriend,_ she thought, giving Franke's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. _Let's just give him what wants for now, okay? _"Don't bother, Franke," she said out loud, not sparing Agent Nein a single glance. "It's pretty obvious what's going on here. Agent Nein's shaking us down, because he knows there's nothing we can do to stop him."

At that, Agent Nein bristled. Kitty smiled at his visible agitation, savoring the minor victory. _Don't like having your hypocrisy pointed out, huh, Agent No-Girlfriend? Jerk. _"I am not shaking you down, as you put it," he said, shaking his head, sounding more annoyed than he had when Franke had initially charged him that arrowhead. "You have both broken several rules, and the confiscation of your arrowheads is merely part of the penalty for your actions."

Kitty made a non-committal 'hm' noise. "Sure, you go ahead and say that, if it helps you sleep at night." She grabbed Franke by the hand, a fresh wave of anger crashing over her as she felt the way it trembled in her own. "C'mon, Franke," she said, starting off toward her cabin and pulling her along. "Let's go give Agent Nein his arrowheads so he can feel like a big man for once in his life."

"You are not helping your case, cadet." Agent Nein said as he followed close behind.

Five minutes later, Kitty watched Agent Nein depart through the window of the girl's cabin, their thirty-nine arrowheads lining the insides of his pockets. _You enjoy those little flint-chips, _she thought spitefully, her sharp eyes tracking him as he levitated himself up into the Coach's treehouse. _Pretty soon it'll be all you have to your too-stupid-to-be fake name. Everyone knows that the Psychonauts are gonna go belly-up any day now. _

Her fists were clenched so hard that her nails dug painfully into her palms as she seethed over the loss of her arrowheads. It wasn't that she particularly needed them- she'd brought all the amenities she required for her upkeep from home, and none of the junk at the canteen held any appeal for her (why would she want a cobweb duster? She wasn't a maid)- and they were pretty much useless outside of camp. It was the power that having those arrowheads gave her that mattered. In this place, arrowheads were as good as cash, and Kitty knew very well how loudly and eloquently money talked. No arrowheads mean no money, and no money meant a significant loss of power.

Kitty un-clenched her fists and glanced down at her hands, observing the line of angry red crescents that went across her palms They'd had no choice but to hand the arrowheads over, a fact that stung worse than the bee-venom lip-gloss she'd worn once and then discarded. She had considered attempting to use her mesmerizing abilities on Agent Nein, had almost activated the powers as Franke reluctantly gave the stingy German the little purple chips, but had stopped herself. Mesmerizing someone her own age was one thing, but using it on an adult man with years of psychic experience behind him was bound to end in disaster, no matter what the context.

The one saving grace to this whole ordeal was that there had been nobody else around to witness them meekly forfeiting their stash. That bought her a little time to build her fortune back up; not enough to make up what they'd lost, but just enough for her to find enough arrowheads to keep up appearances. _Maybe I could get Quentin to give me his arrowheads, _she thought, tapping her nail against the window sill. _But then I'd have to admit that I lost all of mine, and he might spread that information to Phoebe...hmm, maybe I can convince him that I'm starting a 'Save the Squirrels' charity. _A slow smile spread across her face, a scam already unfolding in her mind. _He'll be so touched by my kind nature. Maybe he'll gather a bunch of arrowheads just so he can give them to me. Ha, I'll recover my loss quicker than I thought if this works..._

A soft, hicuppy noise coming from her right cut into her scheming, just as she was considering who else she could sucker into giving a donation. The noise had sounded almost like a word, but it had been too muffled for Kitty to make out. She looked away from the window and down at Franke, who was sitting with her back against her bunk, hugging her knees to her chest. Kitty couldn't see her face- Franke had her head bowed into her knees, obscuring it from view- but she could see the way the red-head's shoulders shook, and felt an uncomfortable lump form in her throat at the sight. "Did you say something?" she asked, swallowing the lump as best she could.

A loud, wet sniff- ew, Kitty hoped that Franke wasn't getting snot on her pants- and she moved her head, tilting it up just enough so that one eye was visible. "I'm sorry…" she whimpered, her voice breaking as she buried her face into her knees again. "I messed up."

Kitty opened her mouth to say...something, but no sound came out, because for once, she had no idea what she wanted to say. Franke had messed up; if she hadn't tried to charge Agent Nein the toll, they would still have their arrowheads. If this had happened back home, if it had been Jessica, or Marissa,or Nicole giving her this tearful apology, a cutting remark would have already been on the tip of her tongue. She imagined what would happen if she were to verbally kick Franke when she was already down; the way her face would just crumple and how her heart would break right in front of Kitty's eyes, and she grimaced, the thought not giving her the vicious triumph it would have had it been some other girl. It made her feel downright sick, actually. "It's okay, Franke," she said, blurting the words out clumsily, unsure if she meant them or not. She cleared her throat and repeated herself. "Really, baby, it's fine."

Accepting Franke's apology made her feel a little better for some reason, despite it not having any real impact on their situation. The feeling apparently wasn't mutual, as Franke only began to cry even harder. "I-It's not okay! I lost all of our arrowheads!" she cried out, short, ragged pants cutting between her words. "I should never have said anything to that...that...that guy!"

"Oh, Franke…" Watching her cry made Kitty's stomach twist, the sensation bordering on physically painful. She stood there with her arms crossed awkwardly over her chest, eyes fixed on the dusty floorboards and averted from her girlfriend's shaking, sobbing form. She felt useless just standing there as Franke's wails echoed through the cabin, the sound of it so disturbing that she was half-tempted to just leave. Her feet, apparently having more of a conscience than her mind, refused to move, so Kitty figured that she had better find some way to get Franke to stop, or else they would both be forced to remain miserable in this room.

_Think Bubai. This isn't the first time you've had to deal with a crying girl. _It was more like the tenth or eleventh time, if Kitty were being honest. Her girlfriends always broke down whenever she had to leave them, whether that be because she was moving to a new city or because they had served their purpose and she no longer needed them. Usually she was able to handle the situation with ease- a smoothly spoken placation or some quick mesmerizing work was enough the calm the girl down until Kitty was far away. Maybe she could do that with Franke? She was weeping too loudly and too hysterically for words to get through to her, but her emotional state had left her with little shielding against Kitty's hypnotic gaze.

She took a step forward towards Franke but was forced to stop, her feet imposing their morals upon her once again. She'd never used her powers on Franke before now- had never needed to, as Franke's adoration and loyalty were genuine- but the thought of doing so now wasn't appealing to her in the least. It made her feel bad in way she'd never experienced before, an anxiety raking against her mind the way a cat scratches at a door it wants opened. Was this strange, foreign emotion...guilt? No, that couldn't be, Kitty wasn't the reason Franke was crying, it wasn't her fault...was it? _It doesn't matter. This is the fastest way to to get her to stop before I-_ She blinked, wiping at her eyes. _ I have to make her stop before someone sees her like this. _

She shook her head, pushing her hesitation away, and walked over to where Franke sat, kneeling down next to her. "Franke," she said, an air of command in her tone. "Look at me." She placed a hand on the red-head's shoulder and gave her a quick shake. "I need you to calm down and look at me."

Sniffling, Franke rose her head up just enough to reveal her reddened face, but her movement stopped there, as though she was unable to bring herself to look Kitty in the eye. That wouldn't do, as Kitty required her full attention in order for her hypnotic abilities to work. She reached out with one hand to cup the left side of Franke's face, the skin of her cheek moist and warm beneath her palm. Slowly and gently, she turned Franke so that they faced each other, letting her other hand caress the opposite cheek.

Kitty inhaled sharply as she looked at Franke's tear-stained face, feeling as though someone had just jabbed her heart with a needle. Franke had stopped crying for the moment, but she looked as though she would start blubbering again at any second, her tears still flowing down her cheeks and over Kitty's fingers. It was hard to keep her gaze on Franke's red, puffy eyes- she hadn't looked half as sad when she'd burned her eyebrow last night as she did now- and Kitty thought that if she kept up this stare for much longer than she might end up crying herself, as shocking as that would be. _It's nothing. Probably just...some kind of psychic empathy thing messing with my head,_ Kitty thought as she swiped away a fresh tear with her thumb. _All the more reason to get this done. _

Just as Kitty was beginning to focus her hypnosis, Franke reached up and grasped both of Kitty's wrists. "I'm really sorry, Kitty," she said, her voice raw and shaky. She tightened her grip, each of her fingers pressing down lightly on her skin. "Please don't dump me! I'll be better next time, I swear! I won't mess up again!"

Something within Kitty broke- she didn't know if it was the feel of Franke's hands on her wrists or the desperation in Franke's tone as she begged- but all thoughts of mesmerizing Franke flew out of the cabin window. "Franke, I'm not gonna break up with you," she said, smiling as she caressed the side of her girlfriend's damp face.

Franke leaned into the touch, hope alighting in her eyes. "Really?" she asked, sniffling in a wet, ugly manner that itself would have been grounds for a break-up with any other girl, but was oddly endearing here. "You're not mad at me?"

"Of course not." She paused, rendered momentarily speechless by the realization that the statement was true- she wasn't mad at Franke, and hadn't been at anytime during this whole fiasco, as most of her anger had been focused on Agent Nein. "You gotta work on reading the room before making a move," Kitty said once her voice came back to her. "But I'm not angry. Didn't I tell you it was okay?"

"You did?" Franke asked, blinking as she tried to remember.

"Yeah." She tapped on Franke's nose playfully, smirking as a blush spread across her cheeks. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."

"I don't remember that," Franke confessed, that goofy smile Kitty liked so much returning.

Kitty laughed. "That's because you were crying so hard. C'mere, baby." She released Franke's face and pulled her into a hug. "Since you missed it before, I'll say it again," she said as she ran her fingers through Franke's hair, "it's alright."

Franke quickly returned the embrace, throwing her arms around Kitty's neck and pressing her face against her neck. The feel of tears and snot on her skin should have been unpleasant, but she was too relieved that Franke was beginning to bounce back to care. "You feel better, girl?" She felt Franke nod, her hair tickling Kitty's cheek as she moved. "Good." She pressed her lips into Franke's forehead as she rubbed the other girl's back. "You shouldn't let a guy wearing a counterfeit Jon Vavartos jacket make you so upset."

Franke pulled away, leaving her hands on Kitty's shoulders. "His jacket is fake?" she asked, eyes wide with shock instead of awash with shame and despair.

Kitty nodded, smiling deviously. "You better believe it. The pockets don't line up the way they should."

"Wow." An unladylike snort proceeded the giggles that spilled forth from her mouth. "Does he know?"

"I'm sure he does. He's so cheap that he probably has a bunch of them," Kitty replied, eager to have an opportunity to trash the guy that had given them so much grief.

"I bet he was like 'No one vill notice dat this jacket is fake, Milla. Also I have de super mega-hots for you."

The two girls burst into laughter at Franke's awful German accent, leaning against each other as they giggled. Kitty suddenly felt glad that she had not gone through with mesmerizing Franke, because if she had, than this moment would never have happened. Eventually, their laughter tapered off, leaving a comfortable silence hanging between the two of them. Again, Kitty locked eyes with Franke, though this time she had no ulterior motive for doing so beyond admiring her girlfriends features. Franke had the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen- they were a bright, vibrant purple that occasionally darkened to violet, a color so unique that Kitty had initially thought that she was wearing contacts the first time they had met. Had Kitty ever told Franke how lovely she thought her eyes were? She couldn't recall doing so, which struck her as unfair considering how often Franke praised her beauty. _Maybe now would be a good time to do it…_

But something stopped her mouth from forming the words- a hesitation that seemed to have been born of nervousness, something that Kitty had never experienced before this moment. It was weird- Kitty didn't always say what she was thinking, but she didn't usually have trouble expressing the thoughts she did want to share. She didn't want to think about what this nervousness implied, so she said something else instead. "You know, even if we did lose our arrowheads, you telling Sasha Nein to pay-up was pretty funny. He definitely didn't see it coming, ha-ha."

She hadn't meant anything negative by the comment- she'd actually meant to praise Franke- but Franke's face fell at the words. _Dammit, why'd I go and remind her of her mistakes? _"L-look, sweetie, don't get all sad again,that's not good for your skin," she said, putting her hand on Franke's arm and letting it drift up and down on her sleeve. "Agent Nein probably would have figured out what we were up to anyway. That guy's always snooping around in other people's heads."

Franke wiped her eyes, nodding at Kitty's assessment. "It still sucks that he took our arrowheads. Like, what is he going to do with them?" "Is he gonna string them together and give them to Ms. Milla as a gift?"

Kitty scoffed, having wondered that exact same thing herself. "He probably thinks that he's taught us a lesson about 'honesty' and 'integrity', or some kind of garbage like that." She rolled her eyes, the idea of an agent employed by a shady government organization preaching morals to anybody laughable.

"Well, I haven't learned anything!" Franke declared, puffing her chest out proudly, "except that he's a big jerk with an ugly fake jacket!"

_There's my girl! _Impulsively, Kitty gave Franke a quick kiss on the lips, the contact, as brief as it was, flooding her whole body with warmth. "I'm so glad that you're feeling better, baby. You look a lot cuter when you're smiling," she said, and then blushed, unable to believe that something so corny had come out of her mouth. Franke seemed to like it though, for her face somehow flushed even more. "Right now, we need to focus on replacing those arrowheads before anyone finds out that we've lost them."

"Oh, yeah," Franke said dreamily, still happily dazed from that kiss. "What're we gonna do? Are gonna charge a toll at the bathroom now?"

"Even better…" Kitty leaned in to whisper the plan into Franke's ear, but then noticed the chipped polish on Franke's thumbnail. "But first, we gotta fix your manicure."


End file.
